


not that souls are a thing

by dieofthatroar



Series: stuck inside, here's a ficlet [7]
Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: 2009 era, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, M/M, Soulmate-Identifying Marks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-26
Updated: 2020-03-26
Packaged: 2021-02-28 19:15:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 925
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23332234
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dieofthatroar/pseuds/dieofthatroar
Summary: Your soulmate's first words to you appear on the younger's 18th birthday. It's just that. Classic soulmate au.
Relationships: Dan Howell/Phil Lester
Series: stuck inside, here's a ficlet [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1665151
Comments: 6
Kudos: 113
Collections: phandomficfests: escape from reality





	not that souls are a thing

**Author's Note:**

> i'm weak for soulmate au's. WEAK i tell you

Dan woke earlier than his alarm for the first time in months. He blinked, stared up at the ceiling, and rolled over. The clock read 5:21am and the room was still dark, but he knew he wouldn’t be able to get back to sleep.

It was the morning of his eighteenth birthday.

And, there was a chance. A very large, looming, terrifying chance that on his wrist, this morning, he would read the first words his soulmate will say or had said to him. He could know who that person was.

( _That person,_ because if he were lucky, this morning, it would be a _she._ That he could stop thinking and thinking and guessing at what he was and be confident at something and move on. But Dan wasn’t lucky.)

Maybe, it wouldn’t say anything at all. This would be another morning in a string of mornings with blank skin and questions in his head. But if he were younger—if he were the last of his pair to get to eighteen, it would be there.

Dan closed his eyes and felt soft underside of his wrist. He knew. He didn’t have to look to know there was something there that wasn’t before. He could feel it—a magic left there. A promise lost in time.

When Phil turned eighteen, he glanced at his wrists and his heart sank. Nothing. It was fine, he was older. He could handle waiting a few more… weeks? Months? Years? He hoped it wasn’t years. But he could handle it. More time to fantasize about first meetings and first kisses and secrets whispered under covers.

When Phil turned twenty, he waited still. His skin was as bare as ever, even when his friends started to pair off and find their life partners. (Or, decided that the whole thing wasn’t for them. There were enough people in the world who disregarded the whole soulmate process, thought it was too constricting, but not Phil. Phil believed in love that was made just for him.)

When Phil turned twenty-two, he started thinking that maybe he was broken. That it wasn’t just that he liked boys instead of girls, but that he wasn’t good enough to like anyone at all. He went on dates because he wanted to fall into the attention of another person and forget what he was and wasn’t supposed to do, but he wasn’t good at forgetting. The guy he’d be with would pull on his clothes after they’d have sex and maybe make a comment on the fact he didn’t have a soulmark. Phil would say that he was still waiting and the guy would always give him this sad little look that Phil couldn’t quite ignore.

When Phil turned twenty-three, he started to think that maybe, a soulmate wasn’t for him. That he’d have to be content with this string of one-off dates and halfway lovers because it was better than being completely alone, even if that wasn’t what he wanted. He played the flirt online, uploaded videos, and lived his life. If anyone asked, it wasn’t _not yet,_ anymore, but a simple, _I don’t have one._

Then, one morning in mid-June, his wrist started to itch. He didn’t think anything of it, didn’t lift his sleeve to check what was bothering it, just went on with his life. He ate breakfast while watching some TV, then got to doing his list of chores he’d been putting off. Laundry, editing, some reading. After lunch, while finally rolling up his sleeves to do the dishes, he caught a flash of black.

He’d been waiting for years, but it took him until 2pm to notice the black scrawl that had appeared overnight.

“No,” Phil said, immediately pulling his sleeve back down and backing out of the kitchen. “Nope, no. No.”

He sat down on this bed and stared at the wall. Wasn’t he supposed to feel happy? Feel the romance bloom around him, some sort of pink rose-tinted world. This felt… lonely. Like he’d tripped over something and caught himself, a churning in his stomach that was slowly settling out. He took a breath. Then another. He rolled up his sleeve and stared at his wrist.

_ohh wow this is so good youre so talented!!_

Phil blinked. It was a nice one, as first-words went. He repeated it, but it sounded odd out loud. And the way it looked, like it was typed out. Almost like one of the comments on his videos.

Wait.

Phil grabbed his computer, scrolling through his videos and reading each and every excited and complementary comment he’d received. There were a few that were close, but not a perfect match. Not with the spelling, the punctuation…

Though, as he scrolled, he started noticing how a few started looking familiar. Like they were typed with the same hand…

Phil scrolled and clicked and finally found the one he was looking for.

Dan counted down, willing himself to pull off the covers and look. He rubbed his arm. It could be for nothing. Maybe he was destined to be alone. Or maybe he’d never find the person on the other side this pair.

He reached zero. He took a breath and looked.

Tears started pricking his eyes and a wave of something powerful and painful hit his chest all at once. For the first time, he really realized he had a soulmate. That he had a person he could love. And this person, no _he_ would love him back.

_Thanks!! Glad you like the video :]]_

**Author's Note:**

> I'm dieofthatroar on tumblr, come say hi!
> 
> ((also I have no fucking clue what dan's actual first comment was))


End file.
